Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide assurances that the total number of Gardaí leaving the force in 2013 will not be greater than 500; if his attention has been drawn to any plans to respond to the decrease in funding for An Garda Síochána for 2013 with staff reductions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1413/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Members of An Garda Síochána may retire on a voluntary basis once they have reached 50 years of age and have accrued 30 years service. Members must retire on compulsory age grounds on reaching the age of 60.

In actual fact, most Gardaí take voluntary retirement ahead of their compulsory retirement age and it is not possible to predict with any certainty the number of Gardaí who will leave the Force during the course of any one year. There are currently over 1,000 Garda members who could retire on full pension. However, there is no basis for expecting that all those who could retire will actually do so.

The table shows the number of voluntary retirements so far notified for 2013 (although this is not a basis for forecasting the likely number of retirements).

It is true that there has been a reduction in the payroll provision limit for An Garda Síochána over last year's figures. However, there are approximately 460 fewer Garda members now than at the beginning of 2012 and consequently the pay bill will be lower in 2013. Additionally, the adjustment to the payroll provision for this year also reflects the potential number of members who could retire in 2013.